Zan Zan

Zan Zan

Discord	@lhog
Reddit	elleelleellehawg
Metatype	Oni (Ork)
Street Cred	0
Notoriety	0
Public Awareness	0
CDP	16
D.O.B.	October 13, 2060
Age	25
Folder	[1]
Priority	Metatype - C Attributes - A Magic/Resonance - C Skills - E Resources - C
#Max IGs/Ascension	1

Character Information

Summary

A samurai in the genuine sense of the word - bound by the Bushido Code, sworn to serve those she sees as in need. Very serious on the job, fairly easygoing off of it - but her principles will always remain the same.

An explorer, with samurai as a strong secondary role.

Goals

Zan Zan has been told to set SMART goals. Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.

Immediate

Find Yamabushi.

Short Term

• 'Ware the fuck up. She's been too slow and too weak to save others too many times, and she must not allow that to happen. Cross 500k worth of 'ware by September.
• Conquer the Dweller at the Threshold, and enter the Astral Planes for the first time. Enter the planes by July.
• Get smart. Literally smart - attend college and get a wider, deeper breadth of knowledge. Enter the fall semester at Seattle's university if at all possible.
• Figure out the whole socializing thing. People keep telling her she's charming, but too blunt. Step one is figuring out what the hell that's supposed to mean. Receive a compliment on her social skills by the end of the year.

Long Term

• Join the Knights Hospitaller as a SINner - a proper member of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta - within five years.
• Get a deck, learn to use it, and see the inside of a Foundation - supposedly, they are remarkable places. 2 years.
• Save the world, at least once. ???
• Live by her code of honor. Forever.

The Seven Virtues of her Code

• Gi (Righteousness) - Justice guides her hand. She will strike down those who would break society's laws. She shall remain clean in body, mind, soul, and conscience.
• Yuki (Courage) - She will not fear death. She will not flee unless all others have left, and will not shirk her duty for self-preservation.
• Jin (Kindness) - Live frugally, give away to others what you do not need. Be kind to others in word and deed.
• Rei (Respect) - Show courtesy, respect others, observe social mores.
• Makoto (Honesty) - Say only what you mean. Do not perform deeds one does not believe in. Be above treachery in battle or underhanded tactics.
• Meiyo (Honor) - Her word is her bond. A bargain struck will be kept at consequence of death.
• Chugi (Loyalty) - Live by her pledge to her sensei's will - to respect the code, and to serve the weak.

Background

Zan Zan doesn't know where she was born, nor to whom. Her first memories are in the remnants of el Infierno in Los Angeles - she was probably born there shortly before the quake of '61. Orphan life in a run down, overflowing shelter wasn't easy - and it only got harder. It was at the young age of 8 when the Twins destroyed half the L.A. metroplex, and ZZ was left homeless, alone and weak. And it's then that the latent spark in her is born - an awakening as the Great Lacuna opens up below, the emptiness below inspiring her to walk from her body. Projecting for the first time, she meets and speaks to spirits - none of whom would help her. Only one offers - a free spirit of Man that simply calls itself Yamabushi, one that embodies the Bushido code. It offers her aid if she solemnly swears to follow a code of honor herself: and the only one the young girl can think of to apply to her life is the Samurai Code, as understood from movies she's seen as a kid.

A bargain is struck. Yamabushi saves her from immediate death in exchange, guiding her to a sword in the rubble of her home and beginning her training.

It was a couple weeks in that she started starving - spirits so easily forget mortal concerns. And with her mortal needs established in the spirit's mind, Yamabushi appeals to those who would have the ability to feed a starving kid. The Hospitaller Knights are in the city to provide aid in the midst of one of the greatest humanitarian crises in the 21st century. They were the ones responsible for feeding ZZ in the short term. Slowly, her skills grew - and while the New Rhodes might have left, the Maltese consulate was willing to hire a young oni and her spirit mentor to do odd jobs.

Training was intense - life was kept ascetic, partly by raw poverty, partly by Yamabushi's teachings. Harsh life sharpened her mind like a blade, shifting her astral form until she looked more like a weapon than a woman. Spears for horns, swords for arms, a living embodiment of the blade. It was at 11 when she earned the nickname she'd work under while sticking close to the Knights - a dozen devil rats beheaded before her astral blade as she developed her skills further. Zan, zan, zan. But it's not enough, and she's sick of being so slow on the meat. At 13, she saved enough to get her first cyberware, developing her power further. And while she was satisfied, Yamabushi was frustrated. The choice was viewed by the spirit as short sighted: throwing away the ability to develop the pure body for a short term gain. But ZZ has grown impatient, and she'd realized - it was not against her code. The next limb was easier, and made her stronger. Better able to help others. Better able to strike down the unjust. Steadily, she grew in strength until, finally, she was strong enough to work under Makhmud Kadyrov as a contractor, rounding out teams with anti-spirit support whenever necessary, and waiting on call to come screaming out of the astral and defeat anything from spirits to vampires to paracritters. All in defense of the innocent, the weak, or whoever the Knights ordered her to, of course.

Two tours of duty came to an abrupt end when Yamabushi disappeared one day - presumably into the planes. She's not seen him in months. Alarmed, ZZ has asked to be left in Seattle for now - her personal goals require her to sacrifice the ability to aid others in the short term, that she might gain greater power to help them in the long term. That's the excuse she uses to satisfy her code.

... She'll admit behind closed doors that she's worried for her spirit sensei, too.

Unbeknowst to her, she is a latent drake - her backer is most likely Ryumyo, but she doesn't even know what lies within the depths of her soul. Not yet.

Narrative Significant Qualities

Positive

• Explorer - ZZ is a professional spirit killer. Zashi!
• Bilingual - Yamabushi refused to teach her in anything other than Japanese. She speaks the language like a native.
• Candle in the Darkness - An honorable samurai devoted to protecting others, ZZ has a reputation for saving anyone and everyone she can, often at a cost to herself. This has the benefit of leaving a strong impression on others.
• Cyber-Singularity Seeker - Her body is a blade, for protecting the weak. She must save all of them.
• Latent Dracomorphosis - She doesn't know it, but Zan Zan has a small gift from a Great Dragon, lying dormant in the recesses of her soul. She's an oni, so surely it's Ryumyo. ... Right?

Negative

• Astral Beacon - ZZ is a gleaming blade on the astral, ready to cut through her opponents. Just looking at her feels like running a finger across a bared edge.
• By the Rules (Code of Honor, No Man Left Behind) - ZZ must not break her code. Ever. She will not.
• Signature (Blood Spatter like a Pair of Horns) - A bad habit picked up from her sensei, whenever Zan Zan has had to draw blood, she will whip away the blood into a pair of a pattern of horns on the ground - a warning to those who would harm the weak. On the astral, she leaves gouges behind - carving through the aura to ensure she leaves her signature behind.
• Striking Pigmentation - Hey, she's an oni. Bright red.

Run History

Name	GM	Metaplot	Threat	Date of Run
Harvest Season	Sarcarian		High	10 October 2085
Or'zet Underground Talent Aquisition 1: Hairy Happy	J.R.	Or'zet Underground	High	11 July 2085
From the Ashes	Sarcarian		Medium	30 June 2085
751's Loose Ends	Sarcarian		Medium	6 May 2085
Wrong place, fight time	TidanShock		High	4 May 2085
Resource Extraction	Sarcarian		Deadly	23 April 2085
The Fire Undying	Sarcarian		High	17 April 2085
Choke them all	Zerre			11 March 2085

Affiliations

Contacts

Contact	Connection	Loyalty	Archetype	Profession	Aspects	Chips
Angélica Cabral	4	3	Fixer		For The Cause: OHK, Unbending Morals, Trying Times, Hang on, I've Heard of Them, Oh, I've heard of Them!, A SURGE of Empathy, Breaking Cycles of Violence, Viewed from the Ground, Wide Awake, Striking Cycles of Violence, Still a Hospitaller, Blocking Cycles of Violence	0
Killa Quispe	5	2	Custom(K,G,A,N)	Medical Researcher	For The Cause: OHK, Unbending Morals, Trying Times, Hospitaller Errant, Dreams Laid Bare, Sight Within Sight, We All Lift Together, Syncretism, Claim the Cougar's Claws, Tame the Cougar's Claws, Wear the Cougar's Claws, Definitely Not a Killer, Indigenous Ascendant	Even
Makhmud Kadyrov	5	2	Custom(G,A,N,K)	Auxiliary Forces Liaison	For The Cause: OHK, Unbending Morals, Trying Times, Hospitaller Errant, Shield for the Innocent, Strange Lands, Strange Weaponry, Arms for the Cause, Machine Shop Scraps, Machine Shop Scraps - Part 2!, Experienced Airlifter, In the Field, Anywhere, For the Betterment of Mankind	Even
Asahiro Kunitoshi	6	1	Fixer	Vice-President of Imperial Kami Services	For The Corporation, Blademaster, Scholar, Vashionable, Authorization, Spywork, Corpo Gear, Shintoist	Even
Ed Wells	2	1	Service	Aerospace Engineer	Federated-Boeing, Design Enthusiast, Mechanic	Even
Anne-Marie Leveux	2	1	Service	Smuggler	Smuggler, Gun Bunny, Drugs are for Winners	Even
Bubblegum	1	1	Gear	Fake SINner	Corporate Forger, SINner, Nothing Lasts Forever, Knows How She Got Here	Even
The Farseer	2	1	Legwork	Cartographer	Druid, Cartographer, Magician	Even
Star Man	2	1	Service	Free Spirit	Spirit of Guardian, Astrology Man, Just Likes a Good Time	Even
Nerlithotep	Contact Not Found. Please create contact using Template:Contact.	1	You may also see User:Free Sprite for bot instructions.			Even

Organizations

Contact	Position	Connection	Faction Rep	Archetype	Health	Location
Knights Hospitaller	Trusted Contractor	3	9	Humanitarian Organization	Maintaining	Worldwide

In Character Information

Symbols and Signatures

A pair of blood-spattered horns are left behind when she kills someone - they're the closest thing to a symbol or signature she has.

Matrix Search Table

Threshold	Result
1	The Japanese word for beheading, repeated once. Sounds cutesy in English though.
3	A well-traveled samurai, seen with the Hospitaller Knights on multiple operations.
6	A samurai, both on the meat and on the astral. Known for honorable behavior and nigh-suicidal devotion to saving as many lives as possible.

Shadow Community Table

Threshold	Result
1	A red oni samurai of the traditional sense - blades only. Known for being utterly fearless.
3	A samurai who's worked for the Order of Hospitaller Knights (OHK). Gives generously to charity, looks out for the little guy. Called ZZ by her friends. Specializes in fighting spirits.
5	Rules tie her hands - Zan Zan has a strict code. She's held her ground against forces far greater than she, and it's come at a physical cost. That physical cost has never stopped her from paying it.

Assensing Table

Threshold	Result
1	Generally serious, calm, and focused. Awakened.
2	Four cyberarms, surprise of surprises. Explorer.
3	1.4 Essence, 1 Magic.
4	N/A
5	N/A

SINs

Burner SIN - Sato Tsukasa, Renraku, R4.

Appearance

A red oni - short of stature, with four cyberarms and a piercing gaze.

Clothing

Typically, she wears casual, well fitting clothing. Her sword is always at her side - or if not that, a knife at the minimum.

On jobs, it's one of two things - a sharply tailored suit, with space at the belt for her blade to hang, or a set of full body armor designed to emulate samurai style.

Matrix Persona

The default samurai persona that comes preloaded on a Renraku Sensei.